From autonews.com

Audi will unveil a diesel concept of its R8 flagship coupe at the Detroit auto show. If built, the concept would be the world’s first production diesel supercar.

An Audi insider told Automotive News Europe that an R8 concept will be shown at the show on Sunday. It is powered by a 500hp, V-12, 6.0-liter turbodiesel engine.

The executive, who did not want to be named, said Audi hopes the concept will help raise the carmaker’s profile in North America.

“This concept will give us an image boost in the U.S.,” said the executive. “We think diesel engines have a very big future in this market, By 2015, we expect more than 15 percent of our cars sold in North America will be diesel cars.”

With the R8 diesel, Audi also aims to show skeptics that it is possible to have powerful sports cars with diesel engines. In 2006, Audi’s Le Mans racing team became the first to win the 24 Hours race with a diesel-powered car. Its racing team used an Audi R10 powered by a 650hp, 5.5-liter, V-12 diesel engine. Since its launch, the German automaker has sold 3,050 R8s worldwide.

The Audi executive said the R8 diesel could go into production if it receives a favorable reaction in Detroit

Audi launched the R8 last May, priced at 104,400 euros ($153,000) in Germany. The R8 has a 420hp, 4.2-liter gasoline V-8 engine.

Audi also will show a high performance version of its TT premium coupe in Detroit. The TT-S will use the same 2.0-liter turbocharged gasoline engine as Audi’s S3 entry-premium model, but with 280hp instead of 265hp.